Juvenile crime squads to target under-10s

Crime prevention panels will for the first time target disruptive children under 10, who are too young to face criminal charges.

Under the new strategy, plainclothes police officers will visit the homes of children as young as eight identified as potential offenders and offer parenting advice to families. The controversial measure is aimed at children who have committed petty crimes but are too young to be prosecuted.

Next week, the Youth Justice Board, the body responsible for reducing juvenile offending, will announce that the special pre-crime risk panels will be rolled out across the country in youth crime hotspots.

In a successful pilot scheme in Nottingham, panel members, including police officers and social workers, shared information on problem children for the first time.

The Government has already introduced measures to tackle youth crime, including special orders requiring mothers and fathers to attend parenting classes. Next week ministers are expected to announce an extension of these parenting orders allowing councils to fine the parents of persistent teenage offenders.

Until now, the Youth Justice Board has focused on 13- to 16-year-olds, including 60 high-risk teenagers on high-crime estates across the country.